


As You Wish

by GinnyK



Series: Two Lost Souls on the Highway of Life [3]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen, Late Night Conversations, Post ep season 17 episode 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:48:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21537727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GinnyK/pseuds/GinnyK
Summary: A little Gibbs/Jack post ep for Into the Light.
Series: Two Lost Souls on the Highway of Life [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1351900
Comments: 9
Kudos: 46





	As You Wish

**Author's Note:**

> I have lots of post ep story ideas for the new season but real life has gotten in the way of my writing. Hate when that happens. 
> 
> When I finished my last Gibbs/Jack story, For This Life We Choose, they were pretty close to taking a big step in their relationship. With this story I've attempted to get them from where I left them off to where they seem to be after Ziva disappers, a bit distant with each other.
> 
> Full disclosure, I am not Ziva's biggest fan!
> 
> Story title obviously comes from The Princess Bride. There is also a little line stolen from The West Wing. A virtual gold medal to anyone who finds it.

Jack set her empty coffee cup on the dashboard and glanced out the window of Gibbs’ truck, trying to see if she saw any movement in Ziva’s cabin. Nothing seemed to have changed since she’d last looked only a few minutes earlier. She took a deep breath and tapped her phone to check the time. Gibbs and Ziva had been in the cabin for about 15 minutes, although to Jack it seemed more like 3 hours. 

In the days since Ziva had stormed her way back into the NCIS family, Jack had felt more than a little pushed aside. Maybe “pushed aside” weren’t the right words she thought to herself, more like shoved in a dark closet, behind old coats and broken umbrellas. 

She’d seen very little of Gibbs since he and Ziva had returned from wherever the hell they’d disappeared to. When he did return, injured and exhausted he hadn’t sought comfort from Jack. Instead he simply cleaned himself up and threw himself back into his work. Jack had tried a few times to check up on him, make sure he was alright, physically and emotionally. Gibbs had all but shut her out. And it hurt more than she cared to admit to herself.

Jack let out a frustrated sigh and tried to figure out how exactly she’d ended up in her current situation, sitting the dark waiting for someone she wasn’t sure really wanted to be around her.

*********

An hour and a half earlier she’d wandered into the bullpen, finding McGee, Jimmy, and Ducky talking animatedly about Ziva’s return. She did her best not to roll her eyes at the conversation, but she was caught mid-roll by Nick. They chuckled quietly to each other and she took a step towards Gibbs’ desk. He was intently staring at something on his computer, squinting as he was trying to do so without his glasses. She gave another eye roll and walked behind his chair, reaching to snag his glasses out from under a manila folder on his desk. He grunted a reply as he took them and put them on, not mindful of the large scrape on the side of his face. A few loud, colorful words escaped his lips, causing the rest of the team to stop in their tracks and look at their boss. He stood up quickly, basically trapping Jack between the cubicle wall and his chair. With a sigh of her own she gave the chair a shove, clipping Gibbs’ foot as he stormed off towards the elevator. Jack took a deep breath to stem back the tears she felt pricking at her eyes.

“Ducky,” Gibbs muttered over his shoulder as he impatiently waiting for the elevator to arrive.

Ducky glanced around the room and shrugged his shoulders before heading towards the elevator doors, which Gibbs was holding open with one hip.

“What the hell just happened?” Ellie asked the room in general.

“No idea,” came the chorused voices of the team.

Jack picked up the folder which had slid off Gibbs’ desk when he made his beeline away from her. She set it down and straightened out his jacket which was falling off the back of his chair. Just as she was contemplating what to do next her text alert when off.

“Great, I’m being summoned,” she snorted to the room in general.

“Gibbs texted?” Tim asked, more than a little shocked.

“God no. Ducky,” Jack answered as she headed down to Autopsy.

*********

“What’s up Ducky?” Jack asked as she came through the automatic doors, focusing her attention on the older gentleman and not the grumpy man sitting on an autopsy table with an ice pack pressed to his temple. The one who didn’t even glance in her direction when she spoke.

“Well Jacqueline, Jethro here has been summoned by…”

“Let me guess, Ziva David,” Jack snorted, truly unable to hold back her feelings any longer.

“Yes, that is correct. Anyway, at the present time I don’t feel driving around in the dark alone is in his best interest.”

“I’m sorry Ducky, you thought that calling me to help was the best idea?” Jack asked as Gibbs snorted a little, glancing over to watch the scene play out before him. Jack took a seat on the stool Ducky had rolled in her direction, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Told you so,” Gibbs muttered under his breath.

“Okay, stop, I have no idea what the hell is going on between the two of you. All I know is, you were getting along like two peas in a pod before Ziva reappeared. I prefer that we all get back to the way things were a mere week ago. Jethro, my suggestion is you let someone drive you out to the cabin. Take the advice, don’t take the advice.”

Gibbs looked at Jack with a little shrug of his shoulders.

“Fine,” she agreed as she kicked a sneaker clad foot against the wheel of the stool.

“Splendid,” Ducky said with an overly cheerful lilt to his voice. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to the top of Jack’s head and shook the hand Gibbs held out to him. With a wave over his shoulder he left autopsy, jacket and hat in hand.

“I need to stop by my office. I’ll meet you at your truck,” Jack offered.

“Fine,” Gibbs muttered as he slid off the table. His equilibrium was a bit off and he reached to grab the table to steady himself. Jack tried her best to just let him be, but he did look rather pathetic and she found herself helpless against giving him a hand. He accepted her help with a small, grateful smile. 

“I have to go upstairs for a minute,” Gibbs said as he hitched his thumb towards the door. 

*****

Jack was leaning against the truck when Gibbs came out. He wordlessly threw her the keys and headed around to the passenger’s side. Neither said a word until they were well off the Navy Yard. 

“Okay, this not talking thing isn’t working for me,” Jack muttered.

“Well, Jack, you know I’m not much of a talker,” Gibbs snorted.

“Yeah, I know that, but I have no idea where the hell I’m going,” Jack muttered.

“Ah,” Gibbs chuckled. “Sorry, cross the river, after we stop for coffee.”

Ten minutes later, fueled by fresh coffee and a couple of donuts, they were well on their way. Jack had put the address into Google Maps, which turned out to be a good idea because as soon as his coffee was gone, Gibbs dozed off next to her.

Two miles out from the cabin Jack stole a glance at her traveling companion as she eased the truck to a rolling stop at a desolate intersection. She smiled despite trying her best not to do so. She gently tapped him on the shoulder and he startled awake, banging his head a little on the window with a groan.

“Sorry, we’re almost there,” she said quietly as she turned her gaze back towards the deserted road.

“Yeah,” Gibbs muttered as he looked out the window at the darkness.

When they arrived there was another car already parked in front of the cabin. The front door was open and a light was on. 

“I’ll be right here,” Jack said quietly as she tentatively reached for his hand. Gibbs squeezed it with a wink and a dip of his chin before sliding out of the truck and heading for the cabin.

*******

Eventually the front door opened and Jack saw Ziva step outside. The former agent headed right for the truck. Jack sat up a little straighter and rolled down the window, beyond curious as to what Ziva was going to say to her. 

“Jack,” Ziva said in her usual monotone fashion with a little nod of her head.

“Ziva,” Jack replied, copying the same tone as the woman in front on her.

“Gibbs is a good man, take care of him.”

Before Jack could say anything, Ziva disappeared into the night, headed for points unknown.

*****

Jack watched in the rear view mirror as Ziva pulled away, leaving her in the silence of the woods with her thoughts. She gave Gibbs a few minutes to come outside. When he didn’t emerge, she opened the always sticky door to the truck with a sharp push of her shoulder against the window. She slammed the door behind her, giving him an auditory warning that she was headed his way. Gibbs moved from where he had been watching her from behind the curtains and was just about to head outside when he heard the door slam. He crossed the room and stood in front of the open cabinet, running his hand over the remaining journals on the shelf. The sound of Jack’s sneaker clad feet on the wooden floor caused him to visibly flinch just enough for her to notice. Jack stopped short at his reaction and wrapped the flannel shirt she was wearing around herself against the chilly cabin.

“Nice shirt,” Gibbs whispered as he turned around and noticed she was wearing the spare flannel he’d tossed in his truck earlier in the week.

“Sorry, I got a little cold out there,” Jack explained, annoyed with herself at the fact she was treading very lightly in her interactions with him.

“Not a problem. I know for a fact you’ve got plenty of my shirts at your place,” he pointed out, his matter of fact tone grating on Jack’s nerves, as it usually did.

“Do you, do you want them back?” Jack stuttered out. She chided herself for mirroring his tone.

“I don’t know what I want,” he muttered in a tone more harsh than he had intended, resulting in a flinch from Jack. She backed up, leaning against the window as he crossed the room and sat on the couch, long legs stretched out in front of him, hands folded in his lap. Both were quiet for a few minutes. Jack wandered around the room a bit, glancing at the sparse furnishings, touching nothing. Gibbs’ blue eyes tracked her movements but he stayed silent, eventually sitting up, leaning over, elbows on his knees, head propped on his clasped hands. He gave Jack a sad smile when she finally stopped moving long enough to look him in the eye. His smile gave her the opportunity she was waiting for. She sat down next to him on the couch, close but not touching, mirroring his position.

“What did you mean by you don’t know what you want?” she eventually asked, nudging him a little with her shoulder. She got the fully expected shrug of his shoulders and no answer. “Do you want to talk about what happened with Ziva?”

“Not particularly. What did she say? I know she stopped at the truck.” For a split second Jack thought about not answering him, seeing how her silence would make him feel. But deep down, she knew he would not be nearly annoyed at her silence as she was at his.

“She told me you were a good man and to look after you.”

“Great, just what I need, another set of eyes on me,” he spit out as he ran his hand over his eyes, once again forgetting about the scrape on his temple. “Damnit,” he muttered as he reached to see if he was once again bleeding. Jack managed to grab his hand before he did any more damage.

“Sit still,” she ordered with a sigh, letting go of his hand. She got up and headed for the small bathroom, finding a clean washcloth. “Come in here,” she called over her shoulder. She wasn’t really sure if he’d listen to her.

“What?” he muttered as he entered the bathroom which was barely big enough for both of them. Jack just closed the lid of the toilet and motioned for him to sit down. He followed her silent suggestion and allowed her to gently tend to his wound.

“You know, I’ve been looking after you since well before the mysterious Ziva David reappeared and sent NCIS into a tailspin,” Jack spit out as she wrung out the cloth and laid it over the edge of the small chipped sink. “And I will be continuing long after she bolts from your lives once again.” Her tone caused Gibbs to sit up a little bit straighter and stare at her for a just a few seconds. He’d rarely seen her anger directed at him, frustration sure, but this was different and he knew things were heading in a direction neither of them were ready to handle at that very moment.

“Can we get out of here?” Gibbs asked as he propelled himself to his feet and left the room.

“Well, I assume you’re not willing to talk about Ziva or anything else for that matter, so sure, leaving sounds good to me,” Jack said, her tone changing from frustrated and snarky to quiet and resigned. Gibbs flicked off the lights and stood by the open door, waiting for Jack to exit so he could lock up. As they crossed to the truck Jack started to head for the passenger’s side when Gibbs took her by the shoulders and pointed her towards the driver’s side. Jack carefully backed the truck out onto the road, flicking on the high beams against the pitch black night.

Two miles down the road Gibbs was fast asleep, curled up against the door. Jack stole a few glances at him, the sight of his broken and battered face bringing tears to her eyes despite her best efforts to stop them. Clumsily wiping them away with the sleeve of his shirt she wore, she inhaled the now familiar scent of coffee, sawdust and bourbon. As they hit the highway which would take them back to DC she turned on the radio and set her eyes squarely on the road.

As Jack turned the truck to head back over the Anacostia River, Gibbs opened his eyes. He watched as Jack drove with her left hand, her right sitting on the bench seat between them. After a little internal debate he tentatively reached to grab her small hand in his. Jack wound her fingers around his rough calloused ones. Still looking straight ahead she smiled just enough for Gibbs to see in the dark of the truck.

******

“So?” Jack asked as she turned off the ignition and handed the keys to Gibbs. She turned along the bench seat, tucking her right leg under her.

“So, what?” Gibbs asked as he fiddled with his NCIS cap sitting in his lap.

“Can we talk somewhere?” Jack asked. She truly didn’t know what exactly it was she wanted to talk about. 

“Yeah. I assume out here is not what you had in mind,” Gibbs said with a groan as he tried to stretch a little in the confines of the truck. 

“My office?” Jack offered. For some reason she just didn’t feel like the conversation they were about to have was appropriate for either of the homes. Not that she really knew what conversation they were about to have.

“Okay,” Gibbs agreed as he picked up their empty coffee cups and his hat before sliding out of the truck.

******

“Coffee?” Jack asked as she flicked on the lamp next to the couch in her office. 

“No, I’m good,” Gibbs muttered as he tossed his jacket over the chair in front of Jack’s desk. He grabbed a lollipop out of the bowl, without looking as he always did, lest he be analyzed for his color choice. “What are we talking about?” he asked as he glanced in the mirror next to the door. He groaned at the sight of his injured face.

“I don’t really know,” Jack answered honestly as she opened up the little fridge in the corner of the room, grabbing two bottles of water. She handed one to Gibbs before reaching into her desk drawer and grabbing the bottle of Advil. She tossed it to him and he caught it with a small grateful smile. He took 3 pills and set the bottle back on the desk. “I guess since Ziva came back I’ve just felt very….I don’t even know how to explain it without sounding like a whining 15 year old girl,” Jack started as she collapsed on the couch with a sigh of her own.

“A little left out, I assume,” Gibbs guessed as he sat down next to her.

“It’s so stupid,” Jack sighed. 

“It’s really not. And I’m pretty sure I haven’t exactly been pleasant to be around these last few days either,” Gibbs muttered as he tentatively reached out to tuck an errant strand of hair behind Jack’s ear. Jack gave a little nod in agreement. “I know how I’ve been, how I am in general and I just feel that….. that things are not going to much better in the near future.”

“What does that mean?” Jack asked.

“I don’t want to drag you down with me as I figure some things out.”

“Things about Ziva?” Jack asked, pretty sure she knew the answer. 

“Yeah, I guess I need to do that thing you talk about all the time.” Jack gave him a questioning look, unsure what he was referring too. “Process,” Gibbs smirked.

“It usually helps to process with someone,” she pointed out with a gently poke to the chest.

“I know. But I don’t want whatever I’m dealing with to worm its way into whatever it is that we have,” he explained in very un-Gibbs like fashion.

“And what is it that we have?” Jack asked with a grin and a little wink. It was an on-going joke between the two of them. What they had was undefined, comfortable and totally worked for them. So far.

“We have….us,” Gibbs answered sweetly. “And in order to not ruin whatever this non public, poorly defined thing is, I need some time and space.”

“Okay,” Jack replied with a small nod of understanding. “Starting when?” she asked with a smirk as he leaned over and untied his boots before kicking them off.

“How about tomorrow?” Gibbs asked as he put his arm around her and pulled her to his chest.

“As you wish,” Jack smiled, quoting her favorite movie. Gibbs returned the smile, having watched the movie with her a few weeks earlier. Jack snuggled into his embrace, feeling herself relax for the first time since the whole Ziva saga started. Gibbs kissed the top of her head and reached behind him to grab the gray throw on the back of her couch. He settled it over the two of them and reached to turn off the lamp. Jack was exhausted and asleep in a matter of minutes. She’d spent way too many recent sleepless nights worrying about the whereabouts and the well being of Gibbs.

*********

Ducky whistled down the hallway towards Jack’s office, two mugs of freshly brewed tea in his hands. He was a bit surprised when he had pulled in the parking lot 20 minutes earlier and saw both her car and Gibbs’ truck already in there. He’d rather hoped they’d take some a little time to catch up on their sleep and maybe catch up with each other. 

Her door was open when he arrived and as he entered the room a broad smile came across his face. “There’s my two peas in a pod,” he chuckled to himself as he surveyed the scene before him. Jack was curled up, tucked in one corner, head resting on the arm of the couch, blond hair spilling over her face. Gibbs was stretched out, head in her lap, long legs curled up enough so he just fit on the couch. He put the mugs of tea on the desk and set the blanket, which had slipped to the floor, over Gibbs’ sleeping form. He took a quick glance at the nasty scrape on his friend’s face, it did seem to look a bit better than it had the night before. 

Before leaving Ducky made sure the shades were drawn closed so maybe the pair would get a little more much needed sleep. He picked up his own tea and on a whim leaned over and pressed a kiss to both their foreheads before heading for his office to start his day.

“Thanks Ducky,” Gibbs whispered as to not wake his sleeping companion.

“You’re welcome Jethro,” Ducky whispered back, giving a smile over his shoulder at his good friend.


End file.
